Enlarge / Tesla factory in Fremont, California on October 19, 2022. (credit: Getty Images | Justin Sullivan )
A former Tesla factory worker who rejected a $15 million payout in a racial discrimination lawsuit has been awarded just $3.2 million after a new damages trial. A federal jury verdict reached yesterday gave plaintiff Owen Diaz $3 million in punitive damages and $175,000 in compensatory damages.
After the first trial, in October 2021, a jury in US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Tesla should pay $137 million to Diaz. In April 2022, US District Judge William Orrick reduced the award to $15 million, saying that was the highest amount supported by the evidence and law.
Diaz rejected the judge's $15 million award and sought a new trial on damages only. The judge's final instructions to the eight-person jury said, "It has been conclusively determined that Tesla is liable to Mr. Diaz for: (1) creating a hostile work environment based on race in violation of federal law, (2) failing to prevent racial harassment in violation of federal law, and (3) negligently retaining and supervising one or more of Mr. Diaz's supervisors in violation of California state law."
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